I am guessing that inside each of us, we carry a wild tempest of emotions right now. I am choosing to ignore them today. You have yours. I have mine. My job is to love you – no matter what. In my mind, that is the primary definition of life in Christ. You might feel differently about that too, I suppose.
Today, I look for peace.
Today, I look for joy, celebration, and maybe even some contentment.
Cincinnati's forecast for this Sunday in January informs me that the high temperature will be 35 degrees with snow in the range of an inch or two. Winds are anticipated to be from the south at 10 – 15 miles per hour. It will be cloudy.
This appears to be a good metaphor for our current world. It is dark and dreary, cold and lonely. But, I will dismiss the darkness for the light of hope.
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| Photo: USA Today, Pete Thomas January 14, 2021 |
To encourage this hope, I will take action. I've made a small list for the upcoming week:
- I will watch this video (NOT a cat video) a few more times this week. My first view trapped me in awe and wonder. It reminded me that life allows us to frolic (do people still use this word?) and play while residing in this blue sphere called earth. I will imagine that I am physically present as I watch these delightful Sea Lions dance in the ocean. I will listen to the sounds of the Sufaris' 1963 instrumental, Wipe Out as they do. In fact, I’m going to stop right now for the one minute it takes to watch it again!
- Tomorrow, I will watch another 1963 video as we honor the man, his words, and his example. You might remember Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Wearing Sunday-best attire, people sang while marching toward hopeful change. That hope remains today.
- I will read and watch again, "One Day". I will hope to see this day but in the meantime, I will witness this performance-that-should-not-be overshadowing 'what is' with 'what can be'. The desire being proclaimed by the refrain rings true in my heart; "All my life I've been waiting for, I've been praying for, for the people to say, that we don't wanna fight no more, there'll be no more wars, and our children will play, One Day!"
- Today, I will spend some time exploring a city park. I will discover one that will be new to me Maybe it will be something close to the river or maybe in the hills. I will dress for the weather and walk through this park paying special attention to the mud under my feet. The wet, cold, sloppy, and dirty discomfort will be evident. There will be little natural light. There will be an uncomfortable breeze in these cooler temperatures. I will reflect on how it mimics our current relational and emotional climate.
BUT!
Eventually, I will ignore the mess at my feet and look upwards. I will then experience in full glory the unique, quiet, and swirling snowflakes that fall on my shoulders while cloaking barren tree branches in dazzling white majesty. I will encounter a mystical wonderland as it disturbs the darkness with awe-inspiring beauty in the light reflecting snow. I will see the hope in soon-to-come newborn nature.
As I begin to enjoy my surroundings, I will use my imagination. I will spend my time in this small but elegant paradise walking with you!
I have printed a list of names. If we know each other, you will be on this list. If we don't know each other, a reminder of unknown readers will be printed as well.
I will smile at your in-my-mind image and delight in your presence. I will imagine each of you in a ray of sunshine while I pray for a life that provides you peace, joy, celebration, and even a little contentment.
I will carry this experience and the hope it provides inside a heart and soul that so desperately needs peace, harmony, and love.
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people . . ." Ephesians 1:18
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| Thanks, Gabe |
I was told that "Cardinals have long been symbolic of beauty in the midst of darkness, hope in the midst of sorrow, and renewal in the midst of winter".
May you be blessed with the presence of many Cardinals.
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